Simple Substitutions
by TastySparks
Summary: All Zelda wants is a chance to lead a normal and free life out in the farms. But when her father dies, she suddenly finds herself caught in the webs of ruling a kingdom. Can substituting one life for the other truly keep her out of destiny's grip?
1. Lullaby

The Legend Of Zelda

Simple Substitutions

* * *

The princess stroked the white fairy harp strings with a gentle serenity. She enjoyed having the tutoring room all to herself, it was a place where she could think about life and the future.

Her long, slender fingers seemed to move on their own as she lost herself in trains of thought that seemed to loop around themselves and take her far away to the ancient mountains of the Goddesses..

Today she was not thinking of her future though.

Zelda sighed, giving herself in to the emotions that had bubbled up inside ever since the death of her father a couple of days ago. She was not a very emotional kind of person, and her composure meant everything to her. Yet standing in front of grieving crowds and councils dedicated to the transitions of power, Zelda could not help but break free of her normally calm disposition and slide into a tearful slouch.

The tears slid black stains all the way down her pale, powdered cheeks and she began to hiccup. Zelda buried her face in her white gloved hands, and her long brunette hair shut like a curtain after a show was over in front of her covered face.

She let herself go as she had never done before and soon discovered that she could not stop no matter how much she wanted to. Early morning light shone through the small windows of the room, the sun rising enough to peek through and smile weakly at the grieving princess on the marble floor.

Through her sobbing, Zelda heard the click of footsteps outside the door. Sure enough, the doorknob begins to budge as someone tries to get it unlocked and the princess frantically wipes her face in her arms.

Her heart races as Lord Orion steps with quiet elegance into the room, his jet black hair neatly combed to the side and his hand on his pocket watch chained to his jacket pocket. Zelda blushes at the sight of him, trying to breathe from her episode. Orion smiles kindly and sits next to her, hugging his knees.

He doesn't say anything for awhile. Zelda takes a deep breath, chiding herself for being so silly. She was sure he could hear her heart beating with how fast it was going. It seemed to echo in the room and this thought made her blush harder from the embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, milord. I did not-"

"Please, do not apologize" He flashed her another gentle smile. His face was long and his cheekbones high. His caramel colored eyes wrinkled up when he smiled. Lord Orion was a noble close to her age who had recently been appointed to her father's war council, the youngest to receive such an honor.

Zelda had caught him looking at her several times as she passed by to her morning garden tending. He was not bad looking, but he was sort of a mystery. He had come from unknown lands and made a place for himself here. Zelda still could not understand why her father chose to take him in to his court.

"You are staring" Orion said amusingly, and Zelda immediately dropped her gaze to the floor, pushing her hair behind her ear and blushing harder. She did not know how she could blush more than she already had.

"I'm sorry-"

"You sure like to apologize, princess. I took you for a more forceful character" Orion chuckled, shifting his gaze to the white harp.

"My mother was a big fan of the harp. Music flowed through her veins and shined deep in her eyes" The young gentleman sighed, examining the magestic instrument. "Everytime I think of her I remember a couple of swans she used to play for by the riverbed where we used to live."

Zelda looked at him, he seemed lost in his thoughts. He wasn't like the other nobles that drove her father mad with frustration. He seemed like a genuine, peaceful kind of guy. Someone who wasn't powerhungry or viciously cold. She thought of how his face glowed with childlike innocence and couldn't help but smile.

"I know how hard it is to lose someone close to you, princess" Orion broke the silence of his train of thought. He turned to look at her now, face to face. He looked at her in the eyes and took her hand, making Zelda jump slightly with surprise. No one had ever been so direct with her except her father and her childhood maid.

Orion lowered his gaze to her hand. He gave it a light squeeze and released it. "Zelda, I just wanted you to know that you're not alone in all of this. There are people you can trust to get you through this. And it is alright to grieve your loss."

The princess nodded slowly and gave him a small smile. "Thank you, Lord Orion. It is truly warm of you."

He was looking at her now with a strange intensity. Zelda did not know what else she could say, she was completely overwhelmed by all the attention. She was used to the general people staring and admiring her, but she found Orion's approach different and more intimate. She did not know how to react.

Zelda lowered her azure colored eyes to the white marbled floor and Orion shifted, looking at the harp again. They sat together for a long time, neither speaking until the castle bells signaled for lunch.

Lord Orion raised himself and offered a hand. The princess allowed him to raise her to her feet and she met a small, sheepish smile. She was entranced by how white his teeth were, he had a couple of pointers that were unusually sharp.

Orion bowed slowly and kissed her hand, rising gracefully. He was all formal again. "I'm sure you have important matters to attend to, princess. I won't bother you any longer." Orion said, staring innocently right at her.

"No, I..I appreciate all your companionship today, Lord Orion. Thank you."

"If you ever had need of me again, you need only summon me. You have friend in me if you so desire."

Without waiting for her reply, Orion gave one last bow and walked out of the room, leaving the princess alone with her thoughts and a strange, warm feeling in her heart.

XxX

Castle Town was a bustling center at the heart of Hyrule. Traders from the farming outskirts to the south and fishermen from Lake Hylia there came to sell their catches and grown foods.

From the East, the desert realms, came traveling nomads once a year to sell their fine silks and cloths. Princess Zelda stared out the window of the highest tower in the castle, her bedchamber. She enjoyed watching the dots of snow fall to the earth, it was beautiful this time of year. She loved the winter.

"Princess, Lord Gillian has requested your presence this evening for another session" An old woman said, snapping Zelda back to reality.

Zelda turned around to look Impa, who although had aged greatly through the years still had the knack of sneaking up on her and making her jump.

"Are you ever going to quit doing that?" Zelda asked, smiling and running into the arms of the Sheikah.

"Are you ever going to get used to it?" Impa replied, protectively holding the princess in her arms. She still had that same old forcefulness in her voice despite having aged. Travel had not softened her up at all.

"I didn't know you would be back so quickly" Zelda pulled away and Impa moved around the mess that was the princess's room. She began stripping the bedsheets off the princess's bed.

Impa eyed Zelda, not bothering to conceal that she was examining her.

Zelda turned away. She could not stand any more people looking at her like that, searching for some kind of weakness in her, expecting her to break down at any moment. Of course, with Impa, she was very used to that thanks to always being in her care since she was a small child.

"Are you alright?" Impa asked and Zelda felt a tear welling up in her eye. She shook her head, giving a small choked laugh.

"You did get soft. You've never asked me that before!" Zelda said, turning to raise a playful eyebrow at her. Impa shrugged, and as she looked at the princess the lines on her face softened. "I figured if you needed to break the code...Just this once." Impa said quietly.

She stopped folding and the princess looked at her. Tears streamed down her face. Impa gave her a small smile and Zelda flew to Impa's arms. The old Sheikah stroked her shining brown threads of hair as Zelda let herself go.

It took awhile for Zelda to calm down, but with Impa she could be herself. Zelda nodded, wiping her eyes and giving choked sobs as she pulled away.

"I don't want to hear or see another meeting with that monster." Zelda said, going back to the window.

Impa sighed as she stepped over clothing left on the floor."You know as well as I do that it cannot be avoided. Unless you'd like those sharks to handle everything your father owned."

Zelda looked away to the snowy capped mountains in the west. Death Mountain was beautiful this time of year. She had always wanted to visit it during the winter with her father, who knew the Goron chief quite well."Yes I know. But right now I don't feel like I care at all. They should just devour it all, take it and leave me alone."

"And what would you do?" Impa asked, replacing the old bed sheets with new ones. Zelda breathed in, marveling at the snowy open plains to the farms down south. "I'd love to ride down on a horse to those farms. Those people have no idea how great they have it.."

"Always free and happy..after the snow is gone, the flowers will spring and I'd love to ride the plains until I fall asleep on my horse." Zelda bit her lip.

"My princess..." Impa began, sighing. She knew how Zelda had always desired an open, carefree life. She was not the person to get caught up in politics and the responsibilities of managing a kingdom, less so at the age of nineteen.

Zelda turned to face her old child maid. "I want to live my life, Impa. Out there, in the countryside. I don't want to be here.." She held her arm and looked to the floor sadly.

"Zelda.." Impa knelt in front of the princess, taking both her hands in hers. The princess's hands were white and soft. Delicate. Zelda saw how rough Impa's hands were and she touched the scars on her palms. Her old tattoo on the back of her hand, the eerie symbol of her tribe, still shined as brightly as the day when it was inscribed. The eye looked straight at her.

"We cannot run away from our destiny. Try as we might, it will catch up with us sooner or later" Impa said, squeezing Zelda's hands. "Right now there are people in those farms that will be affected if this transition isn't done smoothly."

"I know.." Zelda sighed. She took back her hands and sat in front of her dresser and Impa began to do her hair. As Zelda stared at herself in the mirror of her dresser, she felt a pang in her heart from reality.

She could never be just a normal girl.

More important matters always took precedence over what she wanted. She was being silly.

Impa helped her get dressed and Zelda ran a hand through her hair. Her father had once said she was the splitting image of her mother. The young princess stood straight, lacing her gloved hands together

and letting them rest on the skirts of her dress.

"Please inform Lord Gillian that I will be there tonight, Impa."


	2. Hopeless Case

Chapter 2

* * *

Princess Zelda picked up the folds of her dress as she descended the stairs urgently, a small black terrier puppy with a green bow on his collar barking lightly at her heels.

"Not now Liam, go back to the garden. I've work to do so I can't play right now" Zelda bit her lip, trying not to break into a giggle. The small terrier entered her dress and circled her feet playfully. Zelda gasped as a group of nobles rounded the corner from the main hall and walked her way. She tried to shake Liam away, to no avail.

"Ah, princess. They are all waiting for you at the throne room." One of the men spoke, who raised an eyebrow as the princess squirmed in place with a shaky smile.

"Are you okay?" He asked uncertainly.

"Oh yes. Yes, I'm fine, thank you" Zelda replied quickly, twitching her foot. Liam gave a happy bark and exited the princess's dress, running all the way down the hall and making the three nobles jump in surprise. Zelda ran after him, leaving the nobles chattering among themselves disapprovingly.

She ignored them. Only Liam could make her smile at all these days. He was a welcome distraction in this house of torture.

As Zelda passed she took in the familiar walls of the castle, which were heavy with all sorts of tapestries and exquisite paintings. Vases with freshly cut flowers from the gardens rounded almost every corner. The smell of newly bloomed roses always stunned her into a dreamy trance. She felt free then, a bird soaring above the earth with wings long enough to cover the world and bring it to her chest. The pulse of life inside the world becoming her own heartbeat.

Portraits of ancient kings long forgotten hung on the walls of the castle here and there. Her father always detested those, so he never had one done for himself.

She thought of the time when they had been walking through the castle together, a rare occurance that happened once in a full moon. She remembered how he had said that if he was remembered, he didn't want it to be as bother to a maid dusting around. This had made her laugh against her will and he had smiled. Now it didn't seem as funny.

Light shined brightly through the stained windows. Zelda gave them a fleeting glance as she passed. Each glass in this corridor had a picture stained in it, a story in the whole of what was supposed to be an ancient family legend.

Zelda remembered staring at them as a little kid for hours at a time. She had always begged her father for the story of the hero of legend and the magical Triforce, the very essence of power from the Goddesses. She stopped suddenly, entranced by the picture of the green hero, holding the blade of legend in his hands as the shadows over Hyrule crawled back to it's master, an evil sorcerer obsessed with the Goddesses's power.

She herself had long stopped believing in such childish tales. Only the nurses and castle maids ever spoke of such things anymore, clinging to the past in their old age. She had researched the Hyrulian timelines in the library and had never found such an event recorded. Only a long stretch of famine and disease during Hyrule's dark ages.

"Nothing about a green knight atop his horse riding to save the kingdom from some crazy loon" Zelda thought, catching herself feeling disappointed.

She hadn't stopped to look at these windows in years. Zelda laid her hand upon the cold glass depicting the hero and glanced to the left, were the picture of the princess in the sorcerer's grasp sacrifices herself for her kingdom. She disappears, leaving the sorcerer powerless and weakened enough for the hero to run him off. It was never clear just what exactly became of the hero once he restored order.

Zelda sighed, her hand sliding off the glass. "Princess?" One of the guards, scruffy looking with a thick moustache, stood tall at attention and bowed slightly. "Your majesty, they are waiting on you to start the meeting" He looked uneasy. Most of the guards always were. Almost everyone she had contact with was afraid of her, or at least uncomfortable.

Zelda gave a short nod and with one last look at the stained glass windows, she went with the knight to the throne room.

At the main hall behind the grand staircase in the middle of the room, two armored knights stood in rigid watch.

"Princess" they greeted in unison as they gave a short bow. The two pushed against the doors to reveal the throne room, a great chandelier hanging above the lengthy table that stretched shortly from the entrance to the steps that lead to the Hyrulian throne.

The table was thin but so stretched out that it could hold almost a hundred guests. Raised voices chattered energetically about politics, some in heated argument looking like they would climb over the table at any second and pummel each other to the ground.

The hall was lit by the morning light through windows that covered almost the entire wall and Zelda could see outside to the great snowy capped mountains. She was grateful, it was the only thing helping her keep her sanity in this circus.

Scholars bent over their charts and maps, their noses touching the parchment, and nobles haughtily drinking golden goblets decorated in the finest of gems sat as Zelda crossed the room. Landholders, lords with close ties to Zelda's father stood in corners waiting for the meeting to start.

Zelda breathed heavily, already she was starting to get a headache and she was feeling a bit queasy. The knights at the steps to the throne took a step forward and slammed their pikes to the marbled floor, the sound echoing across the throne room.

Laughter died, conversations stopped and all eyes shifted towards the princess.

"Her royal highness, Princess Zelda!" The knights announced.

All the men stood from their chairs and bowed respectfully. Lord Gillian stepped forward from one of the table seats closest to the throne. He smiled crookedly and kissed the princess's hand.

Gillian was a short, stocky man dressed in black scholar robes with a ridiculous hat that sported a long, red feather. His nose was long and his shifty green eyes were sharp and attentive behind his round spectacles. He could always be found with stacks of parchment in his arm overseeing the more delicate matters of the castle. Zelda's father had always kept him close but Zelda detested him. He was deceitful and powerhungry.

"Ah, so nice of you to join us, your majesty. If you are ready I will settle this court to begin" Gillian adjusted his spectacles, looking at her scornfully over her tardiness.

Zelda waved her hand in consent and climbed the steps towards the smaller throne brought in for her as princess, right next to her father's. Her father's throne was broad and coated in gold, sporting the insignia of the royal family carved in it's arm rests. Zelda took the smaller throne dedicated to her, which was simpler and carved out of a singing tree from the forests to the west. It had been a birthday present, legend had it that singing trees grew the more you sang to them. Her father was big on legends.

"Our first order of business, my lady, is the matter of the estates belonging to your father throughout the realm, including the castle" Gillian gave the princess a quill and the form. "All are to be transferred into your possession."

"The estates, all except the castle, should be given to the leaders of the respective lands, the Zoras and the Gorons, as a gift of goodwill" Zelda said, watching Gillian shift uncomfortably. "Here we go" Zelda thought sighing inside herself.

Gillian launched into speech, pacing up and down in front of her. "But my lady, these are lands that your father inherited from age old wars. They are a symbol of the authority our kingdom has over the other races." he said, frowning.

"We are not living in the dark ages anymore, Gillian. I have no need for such things. It is better to instill some trust and negotiate peacefully with our allies rather than point a finger to a scar whenever we want something" Zelda said carefully, watching Gillian's face twist into a form of incredulous mockery.

All across the throne room talk exploded over the princess's managing. Zelda stared at them all with utter disdain. They were old, untrusting and total bloodsuckers. She couldn't trust any of them. They thought she was a green thumbed silly girl who didn't know what was good for her, let alone an entire kingdom.

Gillian stopped pacing as the council bickered and the guards tried to restore order. He looked at Zelda, his eyes determined to crush her in whatever game they had to play.

"I suggest you reconsider, princess" Gillian said slowly, smiling condescendingly as he prepared to move on to the next matter.

Zelda stared frustratingly into the lawless mess of people speaking all at once and saw Orion giving her a small, encouraging smile. The guards slammed their pikes down for order and the room feel silent once more.

XxX

"How did it go?" Impa asked as Zelda stormed into her room, slamming the door behind her.

"How did it go? These men are inhuman, unreasonable...pigs!" Zelda puffed, her cheeks flushing pink.

"Just waiting for me to become Queen so they can hoard all they can for themselves!" She sat on in front of her dresser and furiously kicked off her heels as Impa began untying the laces off her dress.

"I bet they're carving Hyrule apart in a map, deciding who gets what" Zelda said as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. "My father didn't build on what's a thousand year old kingdom just for me to come along and let it shatter into tiny pieces."

"Eventually you will get the handle of it" Impa said, brushing Zelda's lengthy hair. Zelda looked at Impa in the mirror. She envied the way people in the castle respected Impa. No one ever questioned her authority.

"What do you suggest I do, Impa?"

"It is not my place to say, child" Impa said calmly. "You must do what you think is right. But you have to play the game. Politics is a complicated game of cat and mouse. You lose some and you gain some. It's not always easy. Even your father had trouble with the council."

Over the next few days, Zelda found herself increasingly suppressed as she attended the proceedings. Whatever she proposed, the council would always explode in argument, doing nothing and Gillian smiling at how miserable she was.

She could get almost nothing passed if the council did not approve of it. Zelda woke with big ringers under her eyes and her moods sent the nobles and staff out of her way whenever she was around. She felt more alone than she had ever felt in her whole life. The pressure was just too much to handle.

To cope she would spend more and more time with the castle warhorses in the stables outside the town. She had to insist on no guards and let persons of high status know of her absence. Even then, a group of bodyguards stood at the entrance to the town not too far away.

The stablemaster was an old friend of her father's, was a tired soul who always lit up at a visit from the royal princess.

"You just couldn't stay away, could you?" Finn stroked his long white, beard as the princess smiled from his doorstep.

Zelda was quite fond of Finn, she looked up to him as a grandfather of sorts and it distracted her from the pressing matters of the castle. He had trouble breathing sometimes and he coughed a lot, but he remained with his horses nevertheless. He knew how much she loved horses.

"I got a new one, just brought him in. A nice, little chestnut colored fella" Finn said as Zelda petted one of the black warhorses eating grass in the open stable field.

"Oh really?" Zelda smiled, pushing her hair back and laughing as the black horse pushed his face lightly against her. "What's he like?"

"Quiet. At least during the day" Finn replied, shifting his moustache and coughing. "He whines a lot during the night, don't know what's wrong with him. Here, I'll show ya."

Finn led the princess to the smaller stables, where the more lighter horses were kept for transport and recreation. As she went through, Zelda petted the horses who stuck their snouts out looking for tidbits. They licked her hand and snorted, pacing around their stalls.

Towards the end, in the leftmost space, a chestnut horse with hair the color of the very snow falling outside, whined at Zelda. He was built smaller than his companions in the stalls, and he stomped impatiently in his stall.

"Insomnic as he is, he's a good horse. Helped out a couple rounds to the lake and back. Very eager I must say, perhaps too eager" Finn said as Zelda stroked the horse. He looked at her deep in the eyes and Zelda found herself getting lost in them. They seemed to talk to her, and greet her.

"My brother down at the ranch was the one who sold him to me" Finn said, eyeing the horse curiously. "It's too bad he's so small, he's got a spirit in him that could trounce most of the warhorses we've got. And that's saying something."

Zelda felt the horse relax under her hand. She didn't know what it was but she felt strangely connected to the horse, almost as if she had seen him before.

"His eyes are very calm, but determined" Zelda thought as the chestnut allowed her to rub him between his eyes. "That is how I should be as the new Queen. Not this pathetic wreck I've been lately" She thought privately.

"What's his name? Zelda asked and Finn crossed his arms, looking at the horse in fond approval.

"Epona"

As they left the stalls Zelda looked back to the horse with the kind eyes, who snorted at her and stomped as she walked away. She felt an odd fondness for the horse and decided to visit more often.

Finn invited her for some hot chocolate and the princess agreed, glad for an excuse to be out of the castle.

"So, how have you been carrying on child?" Finn poured hot chocolate into a china cup for both of them as the storm worsened outside. Zelda watched the harsh wind blow snow into the small windows of the shack. It whipped and whistled, a song carrying over the land.

"I do not know" Zelda admitted grimly, taking a sip from her cup. The old stablemaster snorted, sitting himself down opposite of the princess. "Well if you don't know, who's gonna know?"

"It's just.." Zelda bit her lip, staring aimlessly at her chocolate. She swirled it around with her straw for awhile and then set the cup down. "There have been a lot of things going on since he died."

"No doubt. What you need is some space, it ain't gonna come easy" Finn gruffed, his thick moustache stained with the chocolate.

"I envy you. You've got lots of space here" Zelda said as she stared outside into the snowy pastures of the stable land. "I wish I could live here" she added, and Finn broke into a laugh.

"Nonsense! Why would you wanna live in this old dump? You've got everything you need up in that grand, majestic castle. You just can't see it now." Finn leaned forward, laying his wrinkled hand on top of the princess's.

Zelda stared straight at him. The old man looked tired, his eyes looked as if he would give out at any moment, and he had heavy bags under them. "Besides, you're to pretty to be out here getting tossed around by the snow. And certainly too pretty to be crying all the time." Finn winked at her and tossed himself back on his chair, drinking merrily.

Zelda gave a light chuckle and nodded, hiding her sadness by taking another sip of the chocolate. They stayed silent for the most part after that, watching the storm play itself out.

During that time Zelda wondered why no one understand how she felt. Didn't they see how trapped she was in a world full of papers and old, bitter men arguing amongst each other?.

When they spoke again, it was back to the same old converstation, which Zelda had been expecting.

"They must have some nice gentlemen up in that castle I would guess" Finn started, rising from his seat. Zelda rolled her eyes, her mouth curving into a small smile. The old man was always checking to see if she had met somone with every one of her visits.

"Is there someone special that I should know about?" Finn asked, looking at the princess over his shoulder as he began to wash his cup. Strangely, the young gentleman who had smiled at her in the throne room, Orion, came to Zelda's mind.

Finn made a trimphant fist, seeing the princess half swooning at the ceiling. "Who is he, eh? Is he a handsome lad?"

Trying not to smile, and failing embarrasingly bad at it, Zelda shook her head " You know that my only love is the open plains of the country and your horses."

She stood up, going over to him. "And you of course" Zelda smiled at him as she handed him the cup. Finn laughed "Oh, I'm too dull for you love. What you need is someone to take you up from your feet and make you forget about all those boring meetings and whatnot."

"Actually, the last thing I should be dealing with is a childish love game with a foreign noble" Zelda thought. Such things were beneath her, it was a game for maids and flower girls. Frankly, she couldn't see herself with another man. It felt..painful to her. They were only more chains to a world where she was an imprisoned puppet.

When the storm ceased it was night outside and as Zelda left for the shadowed castle, Finn called after her "Make sure you let me meet him!"

Zelda waved at him as she walked away. The dark figures of the bodyguards were already jogging her towards her. She sighed, seeing her breath take a ghastly form in front of her from the cold. When they reached her, one of the guards threw a heavy coat over her and just like that she was once again an object of the state.

There was a loud whine coming from behind her and Zelda looked back. The shining lights from the stables where Epona was made her want to run to the horse right then and there. She could sleep in a pile of hay, listening to the horse sing to the moon in a corner of the stall and wake to the horse whining at her.

"I'd give anything.." Zelda thought as the bridge to the town descended to let the group in. The castle torches danced in the distance above them as they traversed the town, getting closer with each step. She slept well that night, Epona riding in and out of her dreams and carrying her with him.

* * *

A/N: Epona is going to stay a male horse for my story, he just came to me that way. Zelda is quite distressed at being locked up all the time, and with all her responsibilities just suddenly dropping on her, I don't blame her for being the least bit edgy. I know what it's like to be having so many rainy days, literally for me. It's been quite the rainy summer, but it's not so bad when you get to write a fic to the sound of it.

Anyway, enjoy the read and I'll see you guys next time.


	3. Blooming

I know, I haven't updated in awhile. But I've been busy on the road called life. Come at me people.

I come in peace though and holding a meaty chapter. Enjoy

* * *

Her feet hit the ground lightly, barely making a sound as she jumped inside the Princess's balcony. She had been training for this moment for years.

The window shutters were closed and the curtains were drawn so she couldn't see anything inside. And yet in the stillness of the night, her keen hearing picked up on the Princess's light snores coming from the bed chamber.

Nimbly skirting against the wall next to the balcony doors, she crouched. Even with all her training her hands trembled as they reached out into her side pocket and withdrew a pair of lockpicks.

She had been picking locks since she was eight. In fact, there was no one in Gerudo Valley that did not know how to handle locks. They had to if they wanted to eat. The Princess's locks were no different than the rest.

With a click, the door yielded for her making no noise whatsoever. The assassin's hands moved of their own accord as she crouched and walked inside. They unclipped the dual swords strapped to her belt, both light in her hands.

The Princess's chamber was a beautiful sight, decorated with only the best Hyrule had to offer of everything. A stab of jealousy caused her to halt for a moment and observe the woman curled in her bed, considered by many to be the most powerful figure in all of Hyrule.

She didn't seem so powerful lying there, just like anyone else in their sleep. Unprotected. Her hair a tangled mess and angry circles under her eyes. The assassin crept closer, pausing at her bedside and holding her breath.

It seemed so unreal that she would be the one to end it all. She would end this woman's life and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Not the entire Hyrulian army with their thousand knights or their greedy nobles or Zelda herself. All that power and nothing could save her.

The assassin's blades hovered over the sleeping princess, hungry to taste her blood. She mumbled a quiet prayer in her desert language and gripped her swords tightly before she plunged her blades down for the kill.

In a flash the door to the chamber opened, startling the assassin and making her stop in her tracks. "Zelda!" Orion yelled, running towards the assassin and lunging at her.

Zelda immediately bolted up, screaming as she saw the assassin standing before her. The woman snapped out of her confusion just in time to skirt out of Orion's grip, back flipping out of his way.

Hyrulian knights filed into the Princess's chamber, swords at the ready and lives put down in the defense of the princess, but it was too late. They ran to the balcony from where the woman escaped but there was no trace of her. She was nowhere inside.

"Raise the alarm, I want the Castle guards on the lookout for a woman with red hair and skin the color of sandpaper. I want her found and I want her found **now**" Orion ordered, sending one of the guards scampering outside to begin the search.

Zelda shivered with the cold air ushering in from the night. She still could not believe what had happened and though she was trying hard to speak, she could not get a single word out.

Orion made her way to her bedside and gave light bow, allowing himself to sit by her. He looked at her expectantly, ready to receive some sort of traumatic reaction. This was not missed by Zelda.

"Princess, we need to take you to Impa for protection. There's no telling if the assassin might try again tonight."

"I doubt she'd be that stupid, Orion." Zelda replied curtly, trying to maintain control. She was shaking and couldn't stop. It wasn't right to show such weakness in front of him or the soldiers but she couldn't help herself.

"Be that as it may Princess, I'd feel better knowing you were downstairs with all the protection we have to offer" Orion protested calmly, going along with the Princess's understandable mood.

"I'm not interested in what how you feel" Zelda snapped at him, tying her blanket around her to make sure she was covered. "Get me my maids and bring Impa here. Now!"

She knew Orion had been the one who had saved her life but right now all she could think of needing Impa's protective arms around her.

Orion nodded in compliance and rose from the bedside. He addressed the knights in the room to stay put and report to him immediately about any discoveries. "I must inform the council of what has happened here." He mumbled as he strode towards the door.

Before leaving he gave Zelda one last look of concern but she was not watching him. The poor girl was on the edge of breaking down and all the knights looked uncomfortable, unsure of how to comfort their future Queen.

"I'll be back soon, Zelda." Orion departed and quickly ran down to main hall. He needed to assemble an emergency meeting.

XxX

"Do you think we'll ever see Epona again?" Malon asks, sitting on a log as Link brings down the axe on another piece of wood, splitting it in two.

Link rubbed off the sweat of his brow with his arm, breathing hard. The sun tucking itself in behind Death Mountain for the night and he could see Talon in the distance bringing the horses into the stables.

"I believe so, he's with your uncle. I don't think there's anything to worry about."

"I've never been to the castle" Malon said, twirling her own strands of hair as she imagined it.

"I bet it's beautiful this time of year, all the dancing, the snow, and the traders."

Link smiled at the thought as he chopped up the last piece of wood for the day. It was late and they should really be getting back.

He dumped the pieces of lumber into the cart and began wheeling back in the direction of Lon Lon Ranch, Malon jumping off the log and following him.

"Maybe we can visit this year!" She said excitedly, looking at Link with sparkling eyes.

Link recalled the times Talon had taken them to the annual winter festival, people brimming with the spirit of Christmas and overall in pretty good moods.

From drinking marathons to the crowded market place at the heart of castle town there was something to do for everyone. It had been awhile since he had attended one and the memory of the great castle looming overhead flashed in his memory.

"I bet if you ask him, daddy would let you take me and we could both go and see what the traders brought this year!" Malon continued, her eyes like wild gems lighting up in the night.

She was beautiful. In all his time here since Talon had found him and taken him in Malon had grown from a shy and funny freckled girl to a playful, beautiful young woman.

Link knew she secretly dreamed of pursuing a life outside the old ranch and it's animals, but she just didn't have the heart to leave her Dad.

"What?" She asked, catching him staring and blushing lightly.

"What? Oh, no. It's nothing" Link shook his head.

He himself had never thought about what the world was like out there. All his life revolved around the ranch and he never had much time to stop and think with all the work that needed to be done.

As they neared the entrance to the ranch, Talon called out to them from in front of their house and waved. All the horses had been put away for the night and now it was time for dinner.

They ate around the table silently. Talon switched from looking at Link to his own daughter, wondering what had happened.

"Malon you didn't set the chickens free all over the ranch again did you?" He asked heartily, stroking his thick black moustache. Malon flushed at the memory, embarrassed.

"I haven't done that since I was twelve, Dad."

"Well there must be something going on. Do I have a chicken on my head that I don't know about?"

"Link? You're food's getting cold" Talon said, pointing at Link's plate with his fork.

Link, who had spaced out thinking about the majesty of hyrule castle, was brought back to their simple wooden dinner table. He apologized and begun to dig in anxiously.

"I've never seen you two so distracted" Talon raised an eyebrow, finishing his dinner but staying where he was. He looked at both of them quizzically, and they knew he would not budge until they spit it out.

Malon hesitated, looking at Link for some kind of approval. He gave none, staring blankly into his plate lost in thought.

"Link wants to take me to the winter festival this year" She blurted out, her cheeks reddening. Talon raised his eyebrows in surprise, turning to look at Link. The boy looked as surprised as he did.

"Well..I was planning on taking Link to my pilgrimage this year to Death Mountain. The Gorons and I are good friends and I've always wanted to see that mountain snow capped up close."

Malon stared at her father with hope in her eyes, pleading at him. She reminded him so much of her mother.

Talon sighed and Malon smiled in triumph, excusing herself and running upstairs to pack for the trip. "I can't believe it!" They heard her say as she scampered up the stairs.

The old rancher sat as Link finished up his own dinner in silence. He didn't look as eager as Malon did. In fact, he looked lost. A sense of blame overcame him, he had always known Link was meant for more than the simple ranch life.

He was a quiet and sensitive boy, even after the ranch life hardening him up and making him a man any parent would be proud to have. He figured the day had come for Link to find his own path.

"Will you take good care of Malon? Link?" Talon asked and the boy nodded, his blue eyes snapping to attention immediately.

"Of course, you know I will." Link said, wondering why Talon even had to ask. He owed the rancher his life. He was like a father to him.

"You know.." Talon clasped his fingers together, looking pensively into the old wooden table he had made himself as a present for Malon's mother.

"I've seen how Malon looks at you. She doesn't exactly have the greatest talent in hiding her feelings."

Link's eyes widened in surprise. He had never noted anything of the sort. All his life Malon had just been..Malon. His best friend. His silly partner in crime, riding horses around the ranch and making this place run as best as possible with Talon.

"Link I know you'd protect her with your life. You're a good man. And both you and Malon are in the bloom of your lives. It would be foolish of me to think I could keep you and Malon here forever."

Link could not believe what he was hearing. The old man's eyes twinkled sadly as he talked. Was he dismissing him from the ranch? After all these years, where was he supposed to go?

"You're your own man now, Link. It's time for you to find your destiny. One I'm sure is a damn good one. And I'd like you to take Malon with you." He took a big breath, nodding as if convincing himself at the same time he was saying all this.

Talon leaned forward and looked at Link straight in the eyes. "If there was ever a good man for my little girl, it's you Link."

Link sat, digesting what Talon had just said. He was stepping into some other world, one he knew nothing about. And now all this talk about Malon and him?

"Malon would make a good wife for you one day, I have no doubts. She has her mother's spirits and she'd keep you in line." Talon stood, walking towards the kitchen and dumping the dirty dishes in there.

When he came back, Link was standing before him, a uncertain and hesitant expression on his face. "I've never thought of leaving this place. I belong here."

"You'll always belong here. But now you must learn something of the world. Taking Malon to the festival will be your first step" He replied, placing both his hands on the boy's shoulders.

"Who's going to help you around the ranch if we're gone though?"

Talon scoffed, waving the concern away. "I can handle the ranch. Plus, if need be I can hire some help, but I don't think that'll be necessary. At least not for a long time."

He smiled sadly. "You have my blessing, whatever you choose to do. I have raised you well." He skirted past Link and called Malon to come down and wash her dishes.

Meanwhile Link stood, as lost as when he had first been found that day in the Kokiri forest.

XxX

The winter storms were constant as the days went by and the political climate continued to freeze up between Princess Zelda and her royal council. Whenever she roamed the halls she could tell something was changing in the air of the nobles and their loyalties as they whispered behind her back.

All in all it seemed like nothing was going right and there was no one she could trust, except Impa. The Sheikah watched over her and scared off the nobles' whispers with her glares and forceful nature, often times sending them scurrying on their feet.

"Go on! Move out of the way! The princess is coming through" Impa snarled at a group staring at Zelda as she passed through the main hall.

As much as she appreciated the Sheikah's help, she didn't see how harassing them would help anchor their loyalties to her once again.

"I'm losing the few powers I have left real fast" Zelda whispered so that only Impa could hear as they made their way to the Castle Gardens. "Pretty soon I might as well be crowned out loud as a lame duck puppet queen"

"The people of this land trust you with their lives, Princess Zelda" Impa said confidently, her voice firm and her stern face scanning the halls, scaring any onlookers. "You have to remember that this isn't easy for your people either."

They stepped out into the greenhouse gardens, Zelda taking a big breath of air, smelling the wonderful scent of her blooming roses. In the winter, with considerable caution, she could grow numerous pots of roses. It was one of the few things besides Epona that kept her active and spirited.

She cut one of the roses from a pot and held it in her hands, closing her eyes to smell the flower. "These responsibilities may be too much for just me to handle" Zelda thought absentmindedly staring at the beautiful flower. Either she somehow reigned her kingdom in or she would be cut off by force.

"Worse still is that we still cannot find the assassin who tried to take my life." Zelda said, frowning.

"It's clear that she comes from Gerudo Valley" Impa piped up, crossing her arms and thinking. The reports had all pointed to a desert dweller. "But without proof.."

"Without proof it would be foolish to threaten the valley. We would be seen as aggressors by the rest of Hyrule." Zelda answered, echoing her thoughts. She was glad that at least someone thought like she did.

"No doubt the council will see things differently though"

"Zelda!"

Both of the women turned to see Orion hurry down the steps to the garden, a wide grin plastered on his face.

"What business do you have with the Princess?" Impa asked coldly as Orion approached. Intimidation did not get the better of the noble however, bowing to both before spreading his arms out.

"I have spoken to the council and they have appointed me to be your guard throughout the day." He said, even as Zelda's face fell into utter dismay.

Impa immediately interjected, fuming at the council's decision. "I have been the Princess's trusted guard for years. There's no need for this measure to be taken! It's inconceivable."

"I understand that and this measure is not to insult your competency at all, Impa" Orion said, nodding to the old Sheikah.

"This is simply a matter of security. We all have the Princess's best interests at heart. Which is why I and a small guard of our best knights when I'm not around will be appointed on her highness's person from here on out."

"At least until this assassin matter is resolved" He added, watching the two women exchange grave looks.

Zelda spoke slowly, seeing where this was all going. "This is all obviously a ploy for the council to spy on me. They are crafty indeed."

Impa seemed to share her thoughts, nodding as Zelda looked at her knowingly. There was nothing they could do for now. Refusing would make her look reckless and uncaring.

As Christmas week rolled in, so did the famous nomads known to sell their wares during the holidays. They entered the castle town to people flocking after them and helping them set up their tents.

It was one of the best parts of the month. Zelda sent her greetings through messengers and began overseeing the preparations for the grand festival to take place in the town.

At last she had something to take off her mind from all the politics. And something that she could actually do right.

* * *

A/N: I promise we'll shy away from all the politics here in minute. Stay with me and it'll all unfold, I'll probably update regularly from now on assuming I'm not too bogged down with work. Let me know what you think please!


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